


Suspicion

by itsthemoralityofit



Category: Teen Wolf (TV)
Genre: F/M, M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-09-08
Updated: 2018-09-30
Packaged: 2019-07-08 12:32:15
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 4
Words: 8,070
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15930509
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/itsthemoralityofit/pseuds/itsthemoralityofit
Summary: Stiles is sure there is something going on between Liam and Theo...now if he can only convince the rest of the pack





	1. Chipotle

**Author's Note:**

> Hello beautifuls, 
> 
> i've been wanting to write something from Stiles' perspective for a while now because i think he's the most interesting character i've come across in any tv show. He's also a lot of fun to write!

Stiles threw himself onto the couch, sighing heavily in comfort as his butt hit the seat. He had been on his feet for over six hours at a stretch today, running and walking and standing, on the tips of his toes, ready to sprint towards and away from the danger. And now. It almost seemed surreal that the threat was gone. The wild hunt were gone. He was here, in Beacon Hills, with the love of his life and his best friends, with nothing to worry about but studying for finals before heading to college in four months time - the entryway into his absolute dream job. Yup, life was finally good. He hadn’t felt this free since he was fifteen years old, before Scott had got bitten. He’d almost forgotten what it was like to not have his shoulders hunched in constant tension. Now, as he closed his eyes and let his head loll back against the top of the couch, his upper body relaxed and he could feel the steady heaving of his pulse lighten gradually in his temples. He let soft waves of conversation waft over him, lilts of high-pitched and rolls of low. 

‘…food?’

At the magic word, Stiles’ eyes snapped open and he straightened so fast his neck cricked. He twitched in pain, hand flying to the place of pain and massaging it as he grimaced.

‘Food?’ he repeated eagerly, ‘I’m down for food, what kinda food?’

They voted, Mason, Theo, Lydia and therefore Stiles for chipotle, and the rest were indifferent. Then came the volunteering for who would go and pick up and Stiles lurched forward with a palm raised to put himself forward. A collective sigh of relief went around the group from bodies too exhausted to even contemplate chaperoning, and Stiles caught Scott’s eye. The alpha was still wary; still didn’t want Stiles going out on his own, just in case. There was a beat and then Stiles opened his mouth to tell Scott aloud that he did not need to be accompanied, that he could handle himself thank you very much - it was just a bunch of Mexican food - but then Liam shuffled forward and shrugged as he volunteered himself. 

‘I’ll go too,’ another voice said semi-immediately. Stiles glanced. Theo was stepping closer with his palm raised, the other hand in his pocket. He looked perfectly composed, as if he was doing them all a favour. 

‘Flattering,’ Stiles said with a grimace, ‘but I don’t think I need two bodyguards. Liam’s fine.’

He still could not trust Theo Raeken, no matter how much water flowed under that bridge, and could not stand the thought of being alone with him in a car, not after all the time he’d already been forced to spend with him in said car. The guy was a shady little bitch with an attitude problem, and as if the whole murdering thing was not bad enough, he had to do it all with a shit-eating smirk on his ass-face. That was, his face. Except his face was an ass because he was an asshole. Man, Stiles hated the guy. 

He watched Theo glance Liam’s way before slumping back down in his half-seat against the edge of the couch, and Stiles pulled his phone out to begin typing down orders, allowing Liam to dictate which way round the group they went. When they came to Lydia Stiles put a cocky hand up and smirked in satisfaction. 

‘All good guys, I got this one,’ he swaggered exaggeratedly, catching Lydia’s eye in a wink. She rolled her eyes at him but he grinned at the sight of her lip curling into a small smile despite herself. 

Then Liam asked Corey and Mason, then Scott, but when they came to the last person, Theo, there was a lag. Stiles looked up from his phone at the delay. Liam was smiling at the chimera, pocketing his own phone. 

‘It’s okay,’ the youngest pack member said quietly, ‘I know your order by heart.’

‘By heart, huh?’ Theo replied, voice soft. There was a tiny smile on his lips - not a shit-eating smirk for once - that made Stiles take pause, eyes darting from beta to chimera and back again. A light flush was making its way up Liam’s cheeks.

Eyes narrowed in suspicion and stomach gurgling, Stiles finally looked away after what seemed a lifetime and grabbed up his car keys. When Liam finally arrived to stand beside him, the boy was still flushed. 

*

The group fell on the food, ravenous with that special sort of 3am hunger that comes from the bone marrow and not the stomach. Stiles wolfed his burrito down in approximately five bites, licking his fingers with slow moans that earned him a withering glare from Lydia with every fingertip to his mouth. God, she was beautiful. He’d never seen anyone so perfect. Even prettier when she glared like that. 

Once he was finished devouring his food and she was finished picking at her burrito bowl with dainty fingers and perfect lips, Stiles settled back in his seat and slipped an arm around her shoulders, aglow at the smile she presented him with him, head tilted up for a small kiss. The touch of her lips on his warmed him from the inside out and he smiled into it. Who’d have thought this was what happiness felt like? Stiles felt like he was finally full. Like he was a balloon and Lydia was helium, inflating him and making him float. 

With a contentment he had not experienced in years, Stiles trained his sleepy eyes on the TV set where Scott was selecting a movie. It was 4am and they needed to sleep but unspoken in the air was the understanding, the need, to be close to each other. Not one member of the pack was ready to leave the McCall house yet, to leave this bubble of this companionship that bonded them closer and warmer than glue that only came in the calm after the worst storms. And so the pack sat and watched mindlessly, every now and again letting slip an over-tired and slightly delirious comment that could only be giggled at hysterically. 

Stiles, mushy and sentimental with his best girl in his arms, cast his gaze around the people around him. Corey and Mason snuggled on the loveseat, Malia curled up on the other side of Lydia on the couch, Scott with his legs stretched out, slumped on the awful leather beanbag that kept squeaking every time he moved, and…Liam. On the floor. With Theo wrapped around him. Stiles’ eyes widened as he stared. Theo Raeken was sat on the floor with his legs on either side of Liam’s, one arm casually around the beta’s waist, the other braced against the floor and propping them both up.   
Stiles watched the older boy murmur something into Liam’s ear, then linger with his smiling mouth just millimetres from the boy’s neck. Whatever it was he’d said made Liam blush a bubblegum pink, turn around to look at the chimera, blush harder, and turn back around with a shy grin plastered on his heated face. 

What the actual fuck? Stiles looked around best he could without disturbing Lydia beside him but as far as he could tell, no one else had noticed. Sure they were tucked away in the far corner but they weren’t invisible, for christ’s sake. How was no one else seeing this? He tore his gaze from the pair and forced himself to concentrate on the TV screen and for a while he was successful, fully immersed for ten whole minutes. Well. He’d tried to be fully immersed but then his eyes kept leaving the TV and resting on Theo and Liam. Once, he’d looked and Liam was resting a hand on Theo’s left knee as Theo tenderly fed him his own soda, fingertips cradling the beta’s jaw. Another time Theo had his eyes closed and he looked to be smelling Liam’s hair, except he couldn’t be smelling Liam’s hair because that would mean…and they weren’t…right? 

It was the lack of sleep. Definitely just the lack of sleep. Stiles rubbed his free hand across his face, tugging at the skin . 

*

It was 5:30am when the pack finally decided to make a move. Malia left first, needing to go for her morning coyote run through the woods, then Corey and Mason who had to be home before their respective parents woke and questioned their whereabouts. The shifting of pack members made Lydia look at Stiles expectantly, violet rings around her eyes betraying her need for sleep, and Stiles nodded in acknowledgement. He mumbled to Scott his plan to head home and drop Lydia off, and headed into the kitchen to find stragglers to offer a lift. Straggler, singular. Really it was only Liam left now who needed to get home and did not have a car, though Stiles had the sneaking suspicion that a certain ass-eating chimera would be more than happy to volunteer for the duty. 

What the brunet did not expect to see as he entered the kitchen, was said ass-eating chimera stood right in the middle of it with his head slightly bent and inclined towards the shorter boy before him. They were only inches apart, talking in low tones as if trading secrets, but without the urgency. Their fingers were intertwined, stroking and playing piano along each other’s skin, and Liam’s eyes were shining. 

Stiles’ heart skipped in his chest, awkwardness throwing his limbs into disarray as he attempted to turn and escape the scene. He could not be sure whether it was the squeak of his sneaker on the tiled floor or the lurch of his insides that had given him away, but as he turned he heard Theo call out his name. The taller boy froze in his tracks, squeezed his eyes tight shut for a moment to collect himself, and swivelled with a bright beam on his face that did not quite reach his eyes. 

‘Hey, guys,’ he grinned, bordering on manically. ‘Liam, Theo. Guys. I was just…heading…and wondered if you wanted a ride? Liam?’

He knew the answer before even asking but he also knew he’d had to ask anyway. It was the only way to legitimise his presence in the room.

‘I’ll take him home,’ Theo replied curtly, and Stiles almost thought he heard a double entendre, before he nodded slowly.

‘Oh sure. Cool. Well I’ll see you guys later,’ Stiles bleated, uncomfortableness settling in as he backed away, out of the kitchen. 

As he turned and made his way back to his girlfriend, he could hear the boys in the kitchen talking at a normal volume once more and griping at each other and he sighed in relief. Okay so he wasn’t going crazy. It was just a lack of sleep. Definitely. Just sleep.


	2. Suspicion

Stiles stretched his arms out, luxuriating in the peace. It was 11am, he had not slept this long in ages and now he was a little disorientated. He yawned a little and closed his eyes, then turned on his side and pulled Lydia closer with an arm around her waist. She mumbled something unintelligible and shuffled closer to him, face in his chest. Stiles smiled and inhaled the scent of apple in her hair. He wrapped his spare arm around her and held her close, humming a little. His body ached something awful and he could barely move his legs, but his mind whirred. He could not put down what he’d seen last night. Liam and Theo had been all over each other, Stiles had never seen anything like it. Over and over he kept replaying the look on Theo’s face when Liam had told him he’d memorised his order…so soft, so open, that little hint of a smile…something was up. Stiles was sure of it. 

‘Lydia?’ he murmured.

‘Mmm?’

‘Lydia.’

A sigh, then ‘what, Stiles?’

‘…Sorry, go back to sleep.’

The redhead tutted and huffed, then pulled away from her boyfriend to fix him with a half-asleep, impatient look. ‘You woke me so what is it?’

‘I love you,’ Stiles said simply. He watched her melt into a slow smile and burrow back into him, and he wrapped his arms around her tighter. ‘…Also, have you noticed anything…weird lately? With Liam and Theo?’ 

‘You mean weirder than a chimera being brought back from hell by a beta whose alpha he killed in a failed hostile take-over of the pack he now seems to be a part of? No, I haven’t noticed anything weird lately. Why?’

‘Well when you put it like that…’ Stiles trailed off. He lay there in thoughtful silence a while. Perhaps he was thinking too much on it all. Last night had been a weird night - even by the pack’s standards - so maybe all Stiles had seen was a manifestation of all the weirdness of finally ridding themselves of the wild hunt and the comfort of being close to everyone again. And Theo didn’t have anyone, no girlfriend, no friends, no family, he was on pretty shaky ground with the pack; it was entirely possible he was just clinging to Liam like a baby spider monkey desperate for comfort. God knew he wasn’t going to get it from anyone else. The thought was repulsive. Stiles settled himself a little and closed his eyes once more. It was fine, he’d leave it. No point thinking about a one-off weirdness. 

*

The pack had agreed to hang out today, hell-bent on enjoying the rare freedom of a peaceful Beacon Hills. Stiles dreaded each night that fell, anticipating a vision from Lydia that would foretell what horrors were yet to come. But today was good. Today, like last night, was shrouded in that light muslin that covered the pack members and let in only light. 

Stiles entered the McCall house, the unspoken headquarters of their pack meetings and home to all, hollering as he entered. Lydia was set to join them later and so he entered solo, wandering into the lounge to find Liam sitting on the couch, talking to Scott and Theo about a documentary he’d seen. He interrupted himself briefly to greet Stiles and continued as the lanky brunet threw himself down on the couch beside him. 

‘…That’s what so interesting about the Aztecs. And people don’t even realise that chocolate was thought to be medicinal - it was completely outrageous to even consider adding anything to it in case it dulled the effects of it,’ Liam finished, eyes bright with enthusiasm. He shrank back down into his seat when he finished talking and glowed a little when Scott praised his memory. Stiles caught his best friend’s eye and grinned, making the unsaid joke of Scott being not only Liam’s alpha but his elder brother-cum-father too. Scott simply grinned back and shook his head in acknowledgement, then stood up to take his phone off its charger in the kitchen. 

‘What?’ Liam suddenly asked in a strangled tone. 

Stiles immediately looked at the boy, following his eye-line to where Theo was stood a ways away, arms folded. Why did he always have to stand away from the rest of the pack? Sure, Stiles wasn’t crazy about having him on his lap, but keeping distance like that only served to segregate him from the others in a way that didn’t need help from anyone, least of all Theo himself. Unable to help himself, Stiles bristled but said nothing. 

‘I like history,’ Liam mumbled as an explanation. 

‘I know you do,’ Theo replied gently, a slight smile curving his lips. There was that softness again, the one Stiles had never seen before last night. Now Theo made his way over to the couch and Stiles waited for him to perch on the armrest like he was apt to do, never deigning the actual seats good enough for the royal chimera ass, but he didn’t. Instead he hovered behind where Liam sat and slowly ran his fingers through the beta’s nape-length strands from behind, ending with a little touch to Liam’s neck, making the younger boy’s lips part and eyes close. ‘…You need a haircut,’ came that gentle tone again. 

Theo’s fingers brushed from the ends of Liam’s hair and nape, along the line of his Adam’s apple to his chin, cupping his face. The pad of his thumb ran along Liam’s lower lip. He looked like he was going to lean down and press an upside-down, Spiderman-style kiss to the beta’s mouth. Stiles tensed; he had never been more uncomfortable or confused in his entire life. If they kissed he wouldn’t know what the hell to do with himself.

They didn’t. Theo pulled himself away and sauntered back to his corner, fiddling with his phone. Stiles breathed a little sigh of relief, then waited approximately three and a half seconds before almost sprinting to the kitchen to find Scott. 

‘Scott,’ Stiles panted when he skidded into the kitchen. ‘Scott, something’s going on.’

Immediately the boy’s hands drew themselves into fists and his eyes glowed red, asymmetric jaw clenched. 

‘What is it,’ he asked, body poised to run or strike or whatever the hell alphas did when their pack was in trouble. 

‘Oh,’ Stiles said awkwardly. He raised his palms to diffuse the tension in his best friend. ‘No, it’s not like that, no one’s hurt or anything.’ Scott visibly relaxed before him and Stiles could not help grinning, mostly in apology but a little in amusement too. So easy to get Scott riled up. Funny, really. ’I mean something’s up with Liam and Theo.’

Scott’s brow knitted and Stiles took as an invitation to elaborate. 

‘They’re being really…’ he gestured wildly, limbs akimbo, legs getting involved too. ‘You know? And I can feel it and I can sense it and I didn’t think much at first but now…and just now, there was a thing…I swear to God, Scott, I’m freaking out.’ 

‘…What?’

Stiles rolled his eyes, shoulders slumping with the impending effort of having to explain himself all over again. This time he took a breath and told Scott scene by scene what he’d witnessed over the past night and day, and when he was finished he spread his hands out for confirmation of his suspicions. It didn’t come. 

‘So Liam…and Theo…’

‘Yes.’

‘…Sat next to each other last night, and Theo drove Liam home…’

‘Exactly.’

‘…And today Theo told Liam he needs a haircut…’ Scott repeated slowly, and Stiles grimaced because he could see that look in Scott’s eyes. The patient, half-dying-to-laugh one that made him out to sound like a crazy person and usually he was fine with that except this time, this time he knew what he saw. 

‘But Liam knew his order!’ Stiles exclaimed as loudly as he could without being heard in the living room. He gestured wildly as he lowered his voice to an urgent whisper. ‘Come on, Scott, you can’t tell me something’s not up.’

‘You know my order,’ Scott grinned, ‘you wanna get in my pants?’

‘Well, sure, if you’re offering - it’s not the same thing,’ Stiles hissed. He put hands to his slender hips and ducked his head, thinking, but Scott got there first.

‘You’re probably right, there’s probably something happening,’ Scott finally conceded, and Stiles punched the air in triumph. ‘But it’s most likely just Theo being clingy. He probably doesn’t know what it’s like to have a friend or someone he really cares about who’s alive and he’s just attached to Liam as a result. You know I read about it once? About forming attachments when you don’t have any left over from childhood. Like baby spider -‘

‘Spider monkeys,’ Stiles finished in bad humour. ‘Yeah, I was thinking the same thing last night.’ He sighed. ‘I don’t know, man. Even if it is a baby spider-monkey thing, I still don’t like it. The guy is evil and for all we know he’s trying to possess Liam’s body and use it to evil some shit up. You know, on account of how he’s evil.’ He paused. ‘Also on account of how he’s an asshole.’

‘I think he’s changed, Stiles.’

‘Scott. Are you forgetting he tried to kill you?’

Scott grinned wryly and pocketed his phone, leaning back against the counter top. There was the sound of the front door and female voices, and he waved at the girls who had just arrived. 

‘No, I’m not forgetting anything,’ the werewolf said, talking quickly as footsteps approached the kitchen, ‘but I think he’s different now and he’s been there for the pack recently and we need to cut him a little slack.’

He broke off, unable to say more as people flooded into the kitchen and began greeting each other and talking. 

Minutes later Stiles felt his phone vibrate.

From: Scott McCall

i’m not saying i trust him though. keep an eye out and i will too. 

Finally satisfied, Stiles slipped his phone into his hoody pocket and slung an arm around Lydia’s neck, pressing a kiss to the top of her head.


	3. Caught

Stiles looked up at the presence just left of his periphery and found Mason standing there, looking at him with his phone screen displaying a WhatsApp conversation. Well, half a conversation. There were mostly green bubbles. All green actually. 

‘Sup sophomore?’ Stiles asked easily, laying down his pencil. The buzz and hum of students making their way to and fro class sounded around the bubble of the library were Stiles was spending his free period between biology and math. 

‘Have you seen Liam? I’ve been texting him but no answer, he didn’t show up for class today,’ Mason said. His tone wasn’t urgent but Stiles could tell it was getting there. A lead weight thunked in the pit of the brunet’s stomach and he picked up his pencil without realising, tapping it against his lined notebook. 

‘Okay, have you tried calling his house phone?

‘No answer.’

‘And he hasn’t said he’s sick or anything.’

‘No, nothing.’ Mason hesitated. ‘I…the thing is, I’d go over there myself, except I’ve been late to history all last semester and Mr -‘

‘Don’t sweat it,’ Stiles said, forcing his tone into a light evenness that did not betray the slow panic building within. ‘I’ve got another free period right after this one, and the jeep, so I’ll just head over to his house and see what’s happening. Sound good?’

Mason’s features immediately relaxed and his shoulders slumped with the comfort of someone older and less vehicularly challenged taking over. 

‘Oh and -‘ Stiles paused as he gathered his phone and left his backpack there to keep his place ‘-no need to tell Scott and the others just yet, right?’

‘Right,’ Mason nodded emphatically. 

 

*

Stiles’ brain ran sixty thousand thoughts a minute as he drove like a maniac to the Dunbar residence. He tried desperately to rationalise, and when that failed he attempted to at least organise his thoughts. So, okay, what was he afraid of? He was afraid that Liam Dunbar was kidnapped or killed. Or kidnapped in order to be killed. Who was he afraid had kidnapped the boy? The wild hunt, the dread doctors, a weird cult that sacrificed teenage beta wolves. What was the likelihood of this kidnap happening? Pretty fuckin’ likely given Beacon Hills’ history. Jesus, just when they were enjoying a little peace, just when Stiles was finally getting his shit together academically and with his love life…Images flashed through his brain of Liam being electrocuted and impaled, of Liam being disembowelled by faceless nothings that looked a lot like slender man but less shitty, and he gunned the engine through a stop sign. 

His hands shook whenever he eased his grip on the steering wheel, nerves grabbing at his throat and threatening to spill his stomach contents before he even parked up. Why the hell had he volunteered to go on his own? He, the human of the group, with no supernatural ability except talking out of his ass at inopportune moments. He set his jaw and patted down his pockets, glancing behind him to ensure the jeep was switched off, before inching closer to the house. It was quiet, still, like it would be after a stealthy kidnapping. 

Stiles knocked on the front door twice, to no avail, then attempted to twist the doorknob. When it wouldn’t yield he tried to shove the door open with his shoulder. Then he stepped back and looked up at the windows, trying to guess which was Liam’s. There was nothing for it. He’d have to climb through a window.

Prowling like a cat burglar, Stiles located a slightly open window at the back of the house and jimmied it wider, just wide enough to squeeze his body through. He went, legs first, clutching the upper sill as he swung around blindly with his lower body and heard something crash to the ground. Oh sweet Jesus what the hell had he broken. Stupid Dunbar, Stiles grumbled to himself as he shimmied through the window, lanky limbs flailing around to find purchase. Stupid beta, being small enough to kidnap. Stupid kidnappers couldn’t have even left a door open, no, Stiles had to be forced in through the window instead. Stupid Beacon Hills. 

When he finally found his feet he was stood in the kitchen, a blender lying on the ground from when he’d kicked it over and stepped into the sink. He didn’t bother to pick it up, only continued his journey through the house with his heart in his mouth. 

He rapped softly on doors as he passed, opening each one, until he came to the last. He surmised it must be Liam’s - so far he had opened up the doors to the master bedroom, bathroom, second bathroom, and linen closet. When he pressed his ear to the white-painted wood all he could hear was his own pulse thrumming madly in his ears, and it was with a pang of regret that he had no weapon to hand that Stiles Stilinski gently pushed open the bedroom door. 

His jaw dropped at the sight before him. 

Tangled together, shirtless and hopefully not nude, sheets rucked at their waists, were Liam and Theo with their arms around each other in bed. Theo lay on top of the beta, face pressed in the boy’s neck, one hand fisted in the pillow they both shared, the other curled in Liam’s hair and neck. His eyes were closed and he looked totally defenceless, like if Stiles punched him right now there was a 70% chance he could get away with it. Liam had his arms tight around Theo’s middle, except one of his hands was resting beneath the sheets tangled just above Theo’s ass and it was with a grossness in his throat that Stiles immediately averted his eyes. He battled his feelings of distaste at Liam’s choice of bedmate, and euphoria at being proven right, and said loudly, 

‘You gotta be kidding me.’ 

Liam startled, jolting as best he could with such bulk on top of him and Stiles rolled his eyes at Theo grimacing at the disturbance, pulling slowly off the beta and turning to glare at the interruption. The chimera looked totally at ease, like Stiles had walked into his own home and not Liam’s, as he pulled at the sheets and sat back on his haunches on the mattress. Self-satisfied asshole. Liam, in contrast, had the sheets in his hands and was pulling them around his waist, gathering the fabric and pooling it all towards his crotch. Oh dear god. Stiles quickly looked away and put his hands on his hips, playing the part of concerned parent. 

‘Do you people know how worried Mason and I have been? Liam, you missed the entire morning’s classes, we thought you were dead,’ Stiles thundered best he could. It came out sounding vaguely annoyed and a little waspish but he powered through regardless. ‘Why didn’t you answer our messages?’

‘I’m sorry,’ Liam said instantly, colouring with shame. ‘I didn’t realise, my phone’s on silent. I’m sorry.’

‘Yeah well go apologise to Mason, he’s the one who asked me to come down here,’ Stiles said impatiently. 

He watched the beta run hands over his face and hair, where Theo’s fingers had just been. 

‘Would you mind giving me a ride to school?’ Liam mumbled, voice still husked with sleep. 

‘Fine, just get dressed. Quick.’

‘I guess that’s my cue to get lost,’ a shit-eating voice smirked, and honest to god Stiles could hear it before he looked up and saw it. He cried out in dismay and horror as Theo began to stand up, sheets coming away from his middle, and the older boy shielded his eyes in anticipation of years of mental scarring. Then Theo began to chuckle. ‘Relax, Stilinski, I’m fully dressed.’

Stiles chanced it and saw that ‘fully dressed’ translated to ‘wearing boxers and nothing else,’ but still, he was grateful for small mercies. He ran a hand through his hair and gestured at Liam to hurry himself. He waited for Theo to dress himself and leave with only a quick glance back at Liam, who was watching him with glassy eyes, before rounding on the beta. 

‘Okay, explain.’

Liam’s brow furrowed.

‘Oh no, don’t play dumb with me Liam Dunbar,’ Stiles snapped, standing in front of the boy as he yanked on jeans and socks. ‘What the hell is Theo Raeken doing naked in your bed?’

‘He wasn’t naked,’ Liam protested, blushing at the last word. There was a pause. ‘Look, he was sleeping in his truck so I offered him a place to stay. That’s all. It’s the least I could do since he’s saved my life like a billion times now.’

‘Twice. He saved your life twice, and you bought him chipotle the other night so you’re even now.’

Liam said nothing, simply grabbed up a maroon thermal shirt and slipped it over his head. He turned and tilted his head in exasperation when he found Stiles watching him shrewdly. 

‘You know he’s bad news.’

‘Stiles.’

‘I mean it. It’s your business who you sleep with, and I mean that in every sense of the word, but you know the guy’s evil. Liam he literally came back from hell. That’s how evil he is.’

‘He only went to hell because of what the dread doctors did to him. He’s not evil.’ Liam’s tone was patient, placating. Patronising, almost. 

‘Right, because so many good people get sent to hell,’ Stiles said facetiously. 

The beta sighed. ‘I’m probably not going to change your mind about him right now so if it’s okay can we just go to school?’

Stiles harrumphed in displeasure before gesturing for Liam to lead the way, and followed the boy down the stairs, into his jeep. They drove mostly in silence, Liam swigging from the can of soda he’d grabbed on the way out. Stiles drove steadily, mind drifting over what he’d just seen and said. He’d been completely right of course, Theo Raeken was both evil and a douche, and Liam could do better, but that wasn’t what was niggling in the back of his mind…there was something dancing just out of the corner of his mind’s eye that he could not put a finger on, some tiny insignificant thing that really didn’t matter because otherwise he’d have realised what it was by now… it was definitely something to do with Theo…

Then it struck. 

‘Oh my God you’re wearing his shirt,’ Stiles suddenly said, glancing sideways at Liam. Theo’s red thermal shirt. Stiles was not a fashion guy, did not know the difference between maroon and burgundy, despite Lydia’s impatience and huffs at his ineptitude, but he recalled that thermal shirt. It was the one he’d grabbed when he’d pushed Theo away from him when Theo was getting all in his face…and now Liam was wearing it.

‘What?’ Liam said absently. 

Stiles opened and closed his mouth, then shook his head. 

‘Nothing,’ he mumbled. Nothing he said would make a difference anyway. He resolved to mention it later to Scott.


	4. The battle

Stiles was livid when he returned to Beacon Hills. For months his pack had kept him out of the loop, letting him play cops and robbers out in Virginia while all hell broke loose at home. He sat there at Scott’s dining table, drumming his fingers against the table top as Scott swiftly talked him through the past two months. 

‘Hunters?’ Stiles spat out. ‘Hunting the pack? Our pack? Seriously, Scott, and you didn’t think to tell me?’

‘We had it handled, we didn’t wanna bother you,’ Scott pleaded. He sighed and smushed his hands against his face, leaning forward and putting his elbows on the wooden surface. 

‘Yeah you had it handled. That’s why there are killings left, right and centre going on and nothing is slowing down.’ Stiles sighed and slumped back in his seat. ‘Forget about it, I’m here now. So what are we thinking to do?’

‘I don’t know,’ Scott said honestly, and if Stiles had not already been afraid, the resignation in his best friend’s tone put the fear of death in him. He swallowed it though, and simply listened. ‘We tried recruiting Deucalion and he refused…Jackson is here so that’s good, there’s strength in numbers. And we have Peter onboard.’ A heavy, belly-deep sigh left Scott’s lips and Stiles could feel the dejection and despair there. ‘There’s gonna be a showdown, Stiles. A big one. Lydia saw it.’ When Scott spoke next his voice was hoarse. ‘We’re gonna lose a lot of innocent people.’

Stiles stared at his brother and put a hand out, clasping the man’s shoulder heavily. There was nothing he could say. The phone on the table buzzed and startled them both, jerking them out of their reverie. Scott stood, rubbing at his eyes. He chuckled without humour and asked if Stiles wanted coffee. He did, and Scott turned on the coffee machine, standing by it while it whirred and rumbled. 

Stiles took up his phone, hoping the buzz had been from Lydia with news of her safety and whereabouts. It buzzed again and again in his hands and his brow furrowed in confusion for a moment, then in total comprehension. This was not his phone. The background wallpaper told him as much: it was a full-length picture of Liam in his lacrosse jersey with his arm slung around Mason’s shoulders, beaming into the camera as he held up his lacrosse stick. Unable to stop himself Stiles scrolled through the messages rapidly coming through.

Theo Raeken:  
You ok little wolf? xxxxxx

Theo Raeken:  
Li?? xxxxxxxxxx

Theo Raeken:  
You said you would update me i’m starting to worry xxxxxxxxxx

Theo Raeken:  
Liam? xxxxxx

Theo Raeken:  
baby this isn’t funny 

Theo Raeken:  
Liam

Theo Raeken:  
Liam

Stiles, hot all over with embarrassment and the realisation of what the term ‘baby’ was spelling out here, dropped the phone. He placed it face down and put a hand to his face, flesh burning beneath his palm. Shit. He had been right this entire time. He opened his mouth and looked over to tell Scott, then stopped himself. This was not the time. 

When Liam eventually came over to retrieve his phone Stiles witnessed the stricken look on his face when he saw the messages. Watched the beta put the phone to his ear and talk almost low enough that Stiles wouldn’t hear. Almost.

‘Hey,’ he heard as Liam began to walk out of the kitchen. Then, ‘I’m so sorry, I didn’t have my phone…I know, I know, I’m sorry baby…’

 

 

***

 

 

‘Go,’ Scott shouted at his pack. They simply stood there in the classroom, wide-eyed. He growled at them, eyes glowing fire-red. Monroe and her remaining supporters were on their way here; he did not want to hear the sound of their tyres on the parking lot asphalt before his pack got their asses in gear. ‘Stiles, take Lydia and Mason and go. Now.’

He growled the last word, and saw in Stiles’ eyes that the human had no choice. He grabbed at Lydia and fled with her and Mason in tow, casting a final glance back at his best friend. Scott nodded imperceptibly, a tiny shred of reassurance before the impending doom.

For a moment and a half after Stiles’ jeep left the vicinity there was just breath and eyes searching the gloom for comfort, for someone to tell them without words that everything would be okay; Scott, Liam, Corey, Theo, Jackson, Alec, Derek, Peter, Malia. More in number than there had ever been before, yet Scott’s heart skittered aimlessly in his chest. He tried to tell himself the worst was over, that Monroe had already done the damage, she had already turned the entire town against them and they had survived. She had already tried to turn them to stone through the anuk-ite, he had already clawed out his eyes.

But when the sound of cars arriving jarred Scott’s ears and the cocoa-skinned woman’s footsteps tap-tap-tapped menacingly closer, followed by what Scott counted as at least seven other pairs of footsteps, he could not regulate the breath in his lungs. Fear clutched at his insides and he breathed as deeply as he could, looking from Derek and Peter for strength, to Liam and Corey and Alec and Malia to reassure them. 

‘This will be the last time we do this, McCall,’ Monroe’s voice said as she came into view. 

‘Aw, you promise?’ Peter replied mockingly. Scott flicked his wrists, extended his arms, claws bared. 

In a rush, arrows and bullet began flying, punching holes through plaster and glass, exploding concrete and bits of window in every direction. Scott shielded himself, moving over to where Monroe stood in a bid to disarm her - maybe if he could hold her hostage long enough to negotiate, he could avoid any casualties at all. 

Too late. Just as he lunged at her he saw Peter and Derek swarm a man holding a crossbow, one seamlessly ripping out his throat, the other snatching the weapon away and throwing it out of the broken window pane, before each man turned and grabbed at another hunter. A cry tore from Scott’s lips as another hunter grabbed him by the throat with hands made of steel, man-made silver claws tearing into his skin as he was lifted up off his feet. Scott’s arms flailed in the air, legs kicking out to no avail. His throat constricted painfully, chest tightening with the need for oxygen. His eyes fluttered shut as he kicked out again and again, energy dipping with no warning. Then in an instant he clattered to the ground, coughing. He looked up and saw Theo swiping at the man with his claws, a crude smirk on his face as he did so. Truly, it seemed, Theo Raeken’s debt had now been paid. Scott coughed a few more times before hauling himself up and making his way towards Monroe again, wheezing clearing with every step.

Three hunters stood in his way, then two, as Corey and Jackson grabbed at one together and threw him against the wall. Now only one stood before him and it was Malia who pulled the hunter backwards by his collar, punching him in great socking bursts until blood ran down the man’s mouth and nose. The remaining hunter standing in Scott’s way lunged at his waist, tackling him to the floor. Scott’s head cracked painfully against the linoleum and for a moment he was dazed, blinking stupidly in the dim light before he realised a bladed knuckle-duster was making its way to his face and he dodged it at the very last second. He grappled with the man, rolling him over and pinning him with all his strength and hearing the unmistakable crack of ribs breaking beneath his knee as he pressed down. 

Distracted by a loud cry of distress, Scott looked up, careful not to relinquish his hold on the man beneath him. Liam had been flung against the wall and was now wide-eyed, backed into a corner while a hunter unsheathed his knife, one hand to the beta’s throat to hold him in place. Liam’s breath began to wheeze, voice coming out in rasps, cords protruding from his neck betraying his struggle for air. He needed help. Scott reared back with his fist, aiming for one punch hard enough to knock his mark out so he could run to his beta. He glanced from Peter to Derek to Jackson and back again, pleading silently for one of them to abandon their own fights and go to Liam, but they couldn’t, he could see that. They were all a single bullet from being killed. Scott sucked in a breath, pulling back, and just as his fist made contact with the man’s face beneath him, he registered a loud roar.

Theo, seemingly out of nowhere, had shoved the hunter back from Liam and now stood between them, roaring ferociously with his fangs in full view. His eyes glowed with rage and in a single movement he clawed into the man’s throat and ripped out his voice box, throwing it out onto the floor before reaching back in and ripping a line clean down the man’s chest. Scott could not make exactly what was in the bloody mess Theo now threw out onto the desks and surrounding area, only that the man was clearly dying and that Theo was nowhere near stopping. He seemed overtaken by total madness; Scott had never seen him this way before. The chimera only stopped when Liam’s arms came up and grabbed at his chest and torso, pulling him simultaneously towards his own chest and away from the eviscerated hunter. Expression turning from abject fury to something softer and more dazed, Theo swivelled around to look at Liam for a moment, chest heaving with exertion. And then Scott saw it. What Stiles had been harping on about all this time. 

With a scream of agony, Scott felt a sudden blade-like pain in the back of his neck and he crumpled. The last thing he saw before he came to was four sets of feet running towards him and his assailant. 

 

*  
Stiles paced. Back and forth and back again, running agitated fingers through his hair. He walked backwards and bumped into a table, then walked forward and straight into the wall, unseeing where he was headed. Lydia was sat, cross-legged on the couch, rocking back and forth, face tight and pinched with worry. Mason was stood in the corner, phone clutched so tightly in his hands his brown skin was yellow at the knuckle.   
Not for the first time Stiles resented his own humanity, his own vulnerability that forced him to stay here at the house, away from the danger. His chest kept bubbling at the sound of footsteps going past outside, of tyres roaming past but never stopping. Each time the door did not open and no one spilled through was another moment his heart sank into his stomach out of desperation for news and relief because if no one was back yet, they could not hear of fatalities yet. 

‘Oh thank god,’ Stiles muttered, almost faint with anticipation and relief when the door opened. He and the other two rushed to it and tears almost spilled from his eyes when his best friend entered behind Alec, Corey, Peter, Jackson and Theo. Stiles grabbed at the alpha, throwing himself with his full body into the man’s grip and clapping him again and again on the back. ‘Where are the others?’ he asked when they finally parted. 

‘Cleaning up,’ Scott replied distractedly. ‘I’m about to go over there now and bring them back here.’

‘I’ll come with you,’ Theo said. His shirt was torn badly, flapping open and exposing his entire abdomen and left nipple. Blood that was not his coated him. 

Scott eyed the chimera, weighing up how useful he would be. He was no idiot, knew full well the 5”6, blue-eyed reason for Theo volunteering himself, but Scott declined, shaking his head. ‘No, I need you and Jackson here in case something happens. It shouldn’t but…’ he took a breath and put a hand to Stiles’ shoulder. ‘Peter and I’ll go back to get the others.’ 

*

Stiles made it an hour and fifteen, then an hour and twenty, then an hour and thirty-five, and Scott had not returned with the others. He knew there was no way he could call and find out their whereabouts, and now his heart was in his mouth just the same as before. Beside him, Theo sat on the couch as he paced, tapping his foot and jiggling his leg without pause.

‘Would you quit that,’ Stiles snapped. 

‘If you quit pacing,’ Theo replied curtly. 

Stiles merely huffed and continued adding steps to his count, peering out the window for what he could see that wasn’t just his own reflection presented back to him in the light. Lydia came to stand beside him and he slipped an arm around her waist, pulling her close.

‘They’ll be okay,’ she murmured.

‘Are you telling me this as a concerned girlfriend or as a banshee who can see the future?’ 

‘Both,’ came the soft reply. Stiles smiled despite himself and leaned down towards her for a kiss, unable to suppress the victorious feeling within that they were in full view of her ex-boyfriend. Who ever would have thought Stiles Stilinski would get the girl? 

And then came the turn of a key in the lock and Stiles froze. He turned and looked from Mason to Corey, from Jackson to Theo. What was the possibility that every single member of the pack would return? One batch was good luck, but two? Would the universe smile on them to bring them back two whole batches unscathed?

Stiles held his breath. In his periphery he saw Mason and Corey inch forward, Theo stood up from his seat. And then one by one, as they appeared, Stiles felt the air flood back into his lungs. First Scott, smiling a little grimly, then Malia with Peter, then Derek. Stiles reached forward to claim his best friend in a second hug that was just as tight as the first, grinning in relief as he waved to Liam who was still invisible behind the two broad men in front. 

When Stiles pulled back to jest with Derek about hiding bodies in the woods again, he saw Theo’s eyes scanning back and forth frantically. The chimera looked from Derek to Malia to Peter, and back again, stepping forward slowly to glimpse whether the one person he was looking for had made it back. His chest was heaving slightly and Stiles wondered for an amused little moment if the boy would cry, but then took pity on him, a sense of community and belonging swelling within. He watched Theo stop in his tracks, eyes still skittering restlessly, and Stiles opened his mouth to call Liam forward, and then closed it again. He didn’t have to.

Derek moved further into the living room, breaking up the bottle neck, and Peter followed, leaving Malia standing there with a very visible, very blood-stained Liam beside her, smiling slightly at whatever Malia was saying. Stiles witnessed Theo’s chest stop as he beheld the sight before him, as if he was holding his breath. There was a single moment of stillness between him and the beta, in which they simply stood and gazed at each other. 

And then Theo lunged forward and grabbed Liam by the face and kissed him. 

Lydia’s mouth fell open but Stiles simply grinned, nodding across the room at Scott, who was wearing the exact same grin. The werewolf bobbed his head in a gesture of acquiescence to superiority - or at least, Stiles liked to think so - and the entire pack watched, half-confused, as Theo finally pulled back from Liam’s lips and simply held him in place, eyes closed while Liam clutched at him in return. The pair smiled softly at each other, oblivious to every other body in the room, and kissed again. 

‘Since when?’ Lydia mouthed, eyes wide.

Stiles shrugged, beaming. ‘I don’t know. Ask Scott, he knows more about it than I do.’


End file.
